Skoien's wife files for divorce

March 19, 2009

The wife of a top suburban Republican filed for divorce today, less than two weeks after she was charged with attacking him after discovering he brought two alleged prostitutes into the family home in Inverness.

Eni Skoien sued Gary Skoien, her husband of nearly 13 years, and is seeking a court order to bar him from removing their three young children from the state.Gary Skoien, who is the Palatine Township GOP committeeman, has denied that the two women his wife found with him in the children's playroom were prostitutes. His wife was charged with domestic battery after Skoien told Barrington-Inverness police that she punched him and hit him with a toy guitar on March 8, according to court records. He later obtained an order of protection.

Eni Skoien also is asking the divorce judge to toss out a 1996 prenuptial agreement, with her attorneys saying the document was not prepared or translated into her native language. She requests sole custody of the children.

Gary Skoien couldn't be reached for comment. He is the chief executive officer of Horizon Group Properties in Rosemont.

He's also the former Cook County Republican chairman who was widely criticized in 2005 for offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the indictment of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.